I doubted my ears for a moment.
So, who said they were coughing up blood?
1 second.
2 seconds.
3 seconds.
“Whaaaat?”
I blinked blankly, and suddenly let out a scream.
“Did I cough up blood?”
“……Yes?”
“I coughed up blood? Really?”
“Milady, you can stop acting now. We already know everything.”
“Acting or not, did I cough up blood or not?”
“……Y-yes, you did.”
Oh my. Goodness.
When on earth did I cough up blood? I didn’t notice it at all.
As I covered my mouth in shock, I felt Marie subtly checking my reaction.
“I coughed up blood. Moreover, didn’t you mention something about an incurable disease earlier?”
“……Yes. Milady, you have an incurable disease serious enough to cough up blood…”
Gasp.
I had to cover my mouth tightly with both hands to avoid screaming again.
After taking a few deep breaths, I finally felt ready to speak.
“I have an incurable disease?”
“…….”
Oh my. Why is there no answer?
If I were to refer to Dante’s way of speaking, silence is not a positive sign.
I’m not sure if Marie uses Dante’s way of speaking, but anyway.
I became extremely serious.
I have an incurable disease.
I can’t believe it.
I hadn’t had any symptoms at all until now. Moreover, Hetherson had examined me several times, but he never mentioned anything like that.
Could it be that they were deceiving me and only reported it to Dante or someone else?
Is it a hopeless disease, so they decided not to inform me? Is that the kind of development we’re talking about?
“Why! Why do I have an incurable disease? Is it true? Am I really incurable? Is it some disease that leads to death? Why would I die? Is it a disease without a name? What kind of disease is it?”
I was so shocked that I grabbed Marie by both shoulders and shook her vigorously while asking.
I could see Marie’s face, which had been contorted, gradually becoming filled with confusion.
Oh dear. This is making me even more anxious.
Thinking she might be too shocked to speak, I tried to regain my composure and asked again.
“I’ll prepare myself mentally. No, actually, I don’t think I can. But please tell me, Marie. What disease do I have?”
“……You’re not sick?”
What kind of answer is that?
“I don’t know either. You said I was sick.”
“…….”
“…….”
We stared blankly at each other.
Marie furrowed her brow, then looked into the air as if thinking about something, gradually paling as she gazed at me.
What’s going on? Why is she acting like this?
* * *
Lost in thought, Marie dashed out of the room.
There was no time to catch her.
She makes me anxious and then just runs away?
For a moment, I was dumbfounded. Marie returned with Sienna and Barhan.
Both of them had similar pale expressions as Marie.
“Um, are you really sick?”
The first to speak was Barhan.
“I don’t know. Marie said I was sick.”
“Have you ever coughed up blood?”
“If I had coughed up blood, I would have immediately caused a commotion and asked for a doctor. But Marie said I coughed up blood.”
“Then why did you say such significant things?”
“……Did I say something significant?”
When I asked back, the three of them fell silent with strange expressions.
It seemed they were recalling the events that had transpired.
“Thinking about it, it doesn’t seem that significant.”
At Sienna’s dejected mumble, the other two nodded with vacant expressions.
“But the doctor said your condition was quite strange back then.”
“I already resolved that. The herbs I picked up were the problem. I’m fine now.”
Hmm. Oh. Ah. Yes.
Somehow, the atmosphere felt chilly.
What’s going on? Why is everyone acting like this? I hesitantly asked again.
“No, so. Am I sick or not?”
At my question, the three of them sighed simultaneously.
Gasp. Am I really sick with a terminal illness?
* * *
The truth I learned was more disappointing than I had expected.
“Milady, I’m really sorry. It seems we misunderstood a bit.”
“Misunderstood?”
“We thought you were hiding that you were sick from us…”
“What are you talking about? If I were sick, I would have informed you immediately and sought treatment. My goal is to live without illness.”
No, more importantly, how on earth did I come to be suspected of coughing up blood and having an incurable disease?
The three of them hesitated before explaining their reasoning.
“You were coughing a lot in the garden. We saw a lot of red liquid on your handkerchief at that time.”
“That was just me choking on some fruit I picked in the garden.”
“The traces of the red liquid we often found in the trash…”
“That was from that fruit. I brought it into the room and ate it.”
The three of them looked like they had nothing more to say.
I had nothing to say either.
We avoided each other’s gazes like shy people.
At this point, a thought crossed my mind.
Could it be that Dante was also under this misunderstanding?
“Could it be that Dante thinks I’m terminally ill?”
To my suspicion, the answer was, of course, yes.
Oh dear.
Now I understood why he had reacted so strongly.
I also understood why the people of the Richter mansion had been so overprotective of me.
So that’s how it was. I had unknowingly become a patient with an incurable disease.
The three of them repeatedly apologized as they left the room, saying they had caused unnecessary worry.
Even when I told them it was okay and not to worry, their expressions remained dark.
Yeah. How embarrassing and futile it must be.
To comfort them, I gave a thumbs up and said,
“Still, I feel like I’ve been reborn. I’m glad it’s not an incurable disease.”
“That’s… true.”
Whether my comfort had an effect or not, a bit of color returned to their faces.
No, not just color; their eyes were glistening with tears.
“I’m really glad. It’s a relief that you’re not sick, really.”
“Ugh. Yes. I was so worried you might be in big trouble.”
“Ha ha. I can’t express how relieved I am. I’m sorry for causing you worry over a misunderstanding, Milady.”
The three of them expressed their relief in their own ways.
I looked at them with satisfaction. After all, they had been worried and distressed about me possibly dying.
That must have all stemmed from affection. Of course, it’s a bit ridiculous how such a huge misunderstanding occurred.
Marie and Sienna left the room first, sniffling.
Their eyes were full of tears, but they left with broad smiles.
The last one remaining was Barhan.
“I will inform the Duke. It was all a misunderstanding. And what the Duke said to you…”
“I’ll tell him myself.”
“Really? Will you do that for me?”
“Now that I know it was a misunderstanding, we should reconcile.”
After letting him know just how ridiculous his misunderstanding was.
It was time to go save the man who was still floundering in his absurd misunderstanding.
* * *
〈The lady wishes to see you.〉
Dante moved heavily, his expression clearly tense.
Before the bedroom, he hesitated for a moment.
Should he just turn back?
But he knew that would be futile.
Just as he had to face Serafina, whom he had hurt, he too had to calmly endure the encounter that awaited him.
He swallowed a sigh and opened the door.
The first thing that caught his eye was Serafina.
Sitting at the tea table, swinging her legs while looking out the window, she turned to him at the sound of the door opening.
“You’re here.”
With a voice devoid of laughter, Dante nodded and closed the door.
He felt like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.
There was no exchange of words between the two until he sat down.
Dante found the silence suffocating.
Only then did he realize how much of an impact Serafina had on him until now.
In the past few days, while keeping his distance from her, his life had been so quiet.
It was clearly the same daily routine as before, yet he couldn’t understand why it felt so desolate.
However, even now, with Serafina by his side, the world felt silent.
He gritted his teeth to keep his face from crumbling.
Like a punished child, he sat across from Serafina with his head down.
“…….”
“…….”
Serafina silently poured tea into an empty teacup and placed it in front of Dante.
……This is.
“Lavender.”
“Right. It’s a tea good for calming the mind and body, remember?”
Even that question felt frightening.
What on earth was she trying to say by offering tea that was good for calming the mind and body first?
With trembling fingertips, he lifted the teacup and took a sip.
Unfortunately, it didn’t have a significant effect.
Meanwhile, Serafina quietly scrutinized Dante.
And she was impressed.
Wow. He’s really trembling.
It was a subtle change that others wouldn’t notice, but to Serafina, who had eaten meals, shared tea, and slept together with him, his agitation was clearly visible.
Still, it seems he regrets fighting.
Narrowing her eyes, Serafina glanced at Dante and let out a sigh of relief.
It’s a relief that he regrets it.
Although she had called him to tell the truth and reconcile, if the other person showed no signs of remorse at all…
She would have probably lost interest in him entirely.